Psalm 121

 I lift my eyes to the hills-

where does my help come from?

My help comes from the LORD

the Maker of heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot slip-

he who watches over you will not slumber.

Indeed, he who watches over Israel

will neither slumber nor sleep.

The LORD watches over you-

the LORD is your shade at your right hand;

the sun will not harm you by day,

nor the moon by night.

The LORD will keep you from all harm-

he will watch over your life;

the LORD will watch over your coming and going

both now and forevermore.

*Psalm 121*

This is the scripture heavy on my heart today.  No matter what obstacle that I have faced in the past few years, God has given me the strength and wisdom to get through and move on.  I believe many of the situations that I have been faced with have only been there to make sure that I am truly relying on God.

"I Lift My Eyes Up" is a song I remember singing at Miracle Camp when I was younger.  I have included Kutless's version of the song.  It's an awesome reminder of where we need to keep our focus no matter what life throws our way.

Dominican fruits

One of the many things that I love about the Dominican is eating fresh fruit all the time.  Today I tried Guanabana juice for the first time...and it was AMAZING.  It doesn't look very attractive from the outside, but it tastes wonderful.

 

Another love of mine is Chinola, also known as passion fruit.  I have not actually eaten the fruit itself, but the juice and the ice cream are sooooo good.  I'm hoping to make a stop at Bon Helado sometime this weekend to get my weekly fix of Chinola ice cream.  Yesterday, Jeff, Dan and I finished off the bottom of their supply.  

 

Well, that is all for now.  If you have the opportunity to try either of these fruits, go for it!  Most likely you will not regret it.  I hope I can find them when I go home...maybe at Fresh Market?

Tomorrow Jeff and I plan to travel to Barahona with Bienva to spend the day at the beach.  I am looking forward to some sun time!!

Week at a glance

Well...since I haven't really told you anything about what Jeff and I are doing in the Dominican, I thought I'd write tonight about what a week looks like here at the guesthouse.  As I write this I hear the motorcycles on the local street running through the country.  There is music off in the distance and a cool breeze blows through the room.

Below is a rough schedule of our typical week...obviously everything is run on "Dominican time" so everything is very very flexible.   

• Sunday: Jeff and I attend church at one of two locations: Central Evangelical Church or Prince of Peace.  Then we come back to the guesthouse and open up the rooms for the next group arriving later in the afternoon.  Once the group has arrived, we help to assure that everyone knows where their room is and orientation follows shortly in the dining hall.  During dinner the groups are informed about the expectations and schedule for the week.  They are also given a short history of Solid Rock and the Child Sponsorship program.  We then eat:)
• Monday: Jeff gets up each morning to help Dan prepare breakfast.  This is followed by eating, a run to the the Detallista (grocery store) and the market.  Jeff and Dan make sure the groups are where they need to be with the supplies they need to get their job done.  Kari and I prepare lunch and take care of things around the guesthouse.  The group arrives back for lunch around 11:30/11:45 to each lunch at noon.  The groups are back on their way out around 1:15.  After cleaning up, Kari and I look over the details for the next weeks group.  Margo and Rosa prepare an authentic Dominican dinner each day.  Kari and I make sure everything is set for dinner, then the group eats.  Mondays are also when the Guesthouse store is open.  There are a few local entrepreneurs that come to sell their artwork (paintings, baskets, jewelry, clothing, etc).  Dan and Jeff also sell Dominican coffee and vanilla.  This is also a time for the groups to exchange their American dollars (USD) for Dominican pesos (RD).  At 7:30 the groups are invited to participate in a friendly game of softball with the Dominicans at a local field.  (I look forward to this time every week.  Everyone absolutely loves it!!)
• Tuesday: The schedule is pretty much the same minus the Guesthouse store and softball for the rest of the week.
• Wednesday: We confirm details for next week's group.  Dinner is at a local restaurant called Bienvenidas.  This is followed by ice cream at Splash or Bon.
• Thursday: This is usually the last work day for groups.  Herman the taylor usually shows up around dinner time to deliver his handmade clothing items.  If there are sponsored students, the families get to spend some time with their sponsor child.  Depending on the group's size, this may even include a fiesta!!
• Friday: Breakfast is followed by loading the vehicles to be transported to the capital.  Most groups choose to make a stop at the Colonial Zone in Santo Domingo to see and experience the history of the capital.  The groups leaving stay at the Barcelo Capella resort in Juan Dolio.  Jeff and I stay at the guesthouse to take care of Diego (Dan and Kari's dog), and clean up things around the compound for the next group.
• Saturday: Dan and Kari meet the new group at the airport and they are transported to the Lina. They go out for dinner in the evening.  Depending on the amount of groups coming in, there may be several trips to the airport throughout the day.  For Jeff and me this is a pretty relaxing day of exploring San Juan and catching up on rest.
• Sunday: The old groups depart for the states, and the new group attends church in the capital and then begin their journey to San Juan de la Maguana.

*When the groups are not busy with their work projects, they walk around the local barrios and tour the local city.  
*There are a lot of youth groups throughout the summer so they are usually completing construction projects at the local schools and churches.  This includes cement work, painting, and demolition.  The youth groups also do a lot with the local children by organizing Vacation Bible School with Juan Ernesto.
*We also have medical groups that come down.

I know that I am probably missing something.  It is crazy to see everything that gets accomplished in a day.  There are constantly people coming and going.  Depending on the size of the groups, there are translators that are hired for the week to assist with the variety of projects.

Summer reading

Well from reading my "Inked" entry...you may have gathered that I like the book of James, but if not you now know that I love the book of James.  I think it was in college that someone recommended reading 1 chapter every day for a week, because there are five chapters in the book of James so it works perfectly for a month.  For example Sunday through Saturday of the first week you would read James 1, then the next week James 2, etc.  So every day for a month you are reading James.

I believe there are some great reminders throughout the entire book which is why I'm posting this.  I started with James 1 again today.  By the end of the week you will find that you have almost memorized the chapter just because you are reading it everyday.  You will most likely find that God will place you in situations where these virtues will be strengthened.  I challenge you to give this a try. 

James

Inked

A week before Jeff and I left for the Dominican we decided to make a visit to Freedom Ink.  For those of you that don't know, Freedom Ink is a tattoo studio in Peoria, Illinois (http://freedominktattoos.com/)  We chose Freedom Ink for its reputation, and knowing that Tim Beck, the owner, is a Christian.  My brother had also gone there a few years ago for his first tattoo. 

This was not a rash decision as Jeff and I had been thinking about getting a tattoo for the past couple of years.  We both had some idea of what we wanted.  Jeff had designed a 7/11 figure that he liked to signify our wedding date.  I on the other hand wanted to get a scripture that's been heavy on my heart throughout the past couple of years (James 1:2-18).

When we walked into Freedom Ink, we were warmly greeted and explained what we were wanting.  They had openings for both of us.  Jeff was tattooed by Zach Dole, and I was tattooed by Stephanie White.  Both did an awesome job!  As most of you know, I am extremely anal when it comes to cleanliness and organization and this place was spotless!  With a little Ben Folds playing in the background, our minds were at ease.

Zach Dole started on Jeff's tattoo, while Stephanie drew mine out.  As Jeff's was about halfway done, Stephanie got started on mine.  As I watched the needle and ink go into my skin it didn't seem as bad as I thought it would.  However, after only getting through the 1 and the 8, I started to feel a little light-headed.  I asked Stephanie for some water and she kindly got me a glass.  I also realized that it was about 1 pm and I had not eaten anything all day...this was not good.  I guess my blood sugar was a little low, so after about 10 minutes we were back on track.

 

On my left wrist.

On Jeff's left side.  The picture is sideways, but it is actually a 7 with the 11 as a part of it.

I figured this was blog worthy, because most of you will not see us for atleast 2 months and now you know a new random fact.  If you are considering getting a tattoo, definitely check out Freedom Ink!

85 cents a day....

Where does the change from your pockets or the bottom of your purse go at the end of the day?  For a little over 85 cents a day you can provide the opportunity of education to a child living in the Dominican Republic.  This is such a rewarding experience for everyone involved.  Within a 45 minute radius of the Solid Rock Clinic there are 6 schools that have students to be sponsored. 

What makes this sponsorship program different than others?  First, you have the opportunity to actually meet your child if you choose to visit the Dominican. Second, 100% of your money goes toward the sponsorship of the student.  Also, you receive occasional updates, handwritten letters, pictures, etc from your child.

Last night we hosted an ice cream social for the group from Northwoods to meet their sponsor children. It was interesting to listen to the conversations around the room.  The highlight of my evening was the opportunity to match up an unsponsored student with a family from Northwoods.  Earlier in the evening I was talking with one of the high school boys from the group and asked if he sponsored a student, he informed me that he had not signed up in time, so no.  It just so happened that a student was invited to the social that was not currently being sponsored.  I met with the Northwoods student and his dad to see if they'd be interested in sponsoring this adorable 5 year old boy.  We put together a backpack full of goodies (toothbrush, toothpaste, crayons, pencils, paper), and they were off to meet their new Dominican family member.  This interaction turned into the entertainment for the evening.  They played games together and the little boy told them that he enjoyed drawing pictures of the moon.  Seriously????  Yes, it is true, so he drew a crescent shape with a crayon in his new notebook.

Jeff and I have been sponsoring a child for the past year.  We enjoy catching up with him every time we are down to visit. 

If you are interested in learning more about the Solid Rock Sponsorship program, check out this site: http://www.solidrockmissions.org/Student_Sponsorship.html, and feel free to send me any questions.

Really consider how impactful the change in your pocket can be!

Virgin Blogger

So, I've decided to give blogging a try.  I've always admired the way people share their thoughts in a blog...but never taken the time to give it a try.  So here I am, sitting in the Dominican Republic, and I've decided it's time!  Basically the purpose of this blog is going to be to inform you of what's going on in our lives.  Tonight's post is short because I've spent the last 20 minutes trying to figure out how to register my blog in Spanish.  I've been going between the blogspot page and Google Translate:)  I must admit I'm learning at the same time!  So from this point on I will no longer be able to refer to myself as a virgin blogger.